Shorthand-machine.



W. S. IRELAND.

SHORTHAND MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED Nov. la. 1916.

1,278,474. Patented sept. 10,1918.

' 3 sHEEsAHEEI l.

Illllmlllll IIIITUIIIIIZIIIIM llf7 al if ff W. S. IRELAND.

SHOHTHAND MACHINE.

' APPLICATION FILED Nov. Ia. IsIe.

Patented Sept. 10, 1918.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

W. S. IRELAND.

SHOHTHAND MACHINE.

APPLICATION HLED Nov. IB. 191e.

Patented Sept. 10, 1918.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

WARD S. IRELAND, 0F ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR T0 NATIONAL SHORTHANDMACHINE COMPANY, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, A CORPORATION OIF-DELAWARE.

SHORTHAND-MACHINE.

Specication of Letters Patent. Patented Sept. 1918.

Application led November 18, 1916. Serial No. 132,070.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, WARD S. IRELAND, a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, a resident ofthe city of St.`Louis, State of Missouri, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Shorthand-Machines, ofkwhich the following is a full, clear, and exact description, referencehad to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification.

-My invention relates to improvements in typewriting machines, and thenovel features of the invention are particularly adapted for use inshorthand machines. Prior to this invention, shorthand machines havebeen provided with means for feeding a continuous strip of paper, whichunwinds from the roll and passes to printin devices, whereby acontinuous series of s orthand characters are printed upon the paper.Owing to the peculiar requirements of a shorthand machine, it is adecided advantage to use a verylong strip of paper so that the shorthandwriting may be continued for a considerable period of time withoutfrequent interruptions, and heretofore' the paper supply has been firmlywound in a compact mass around a core or reel. Since the paper isprimarily curled around the' axis of a roll, it tends to return to acurly or spiral condition after passing from the machine. If torn fromthe machine in comparatively short strips, the paper would be in theform of small curls containing the notes to be transcribed by thestenographer, and it will be apparent that such paper is quite diicultto handle. Owing to the length of the paper, and its tendency to recurlthe paper handling devices of shorthand machines have not been entirelysatisfactory.

Therefore, one of the ,objects of this invention is to produce ashorthand machine adapted to unwind and feed the paper from a roll, andalso adapted to obviate the labor of handling curly strips of paper.With this object in view the machine includes a paper straighteningdevice adapted to straighten the paper after it passes from thesupplyroll. More specifically stated, an

object of the invention is to produce a simple paper straighteningdevice associated with the otherelements of a shorthand machine in sucha manner that the desired uncurling or straightening action isobtalnedwithout being impairing the operation of the machine. Another object isto -produce a typewriting machine having a paper straightener whichbecomes effective upon the pperation of the key levers of the machine.

A further object of the invention is tobefore it reaches the shearingdevice and at a point where the crease will not in any way interferewith the action of the printing elements.

With the foregoing and other objects in view the invention comprises thenovel construction, combination and arrangement of parts hereinaftermore specically described and illustrated in the accompanying drawingswherein .is shown the preferred embodiment of the invention, however, itis to be understood that the invention comprehends changes, variationsand modifications which come within the scope of the claims hereuntoappended. l

Figure I is a longitudinal section of a shorthand machine embodying thefeatures of my invention.

Fig. II is a fragmentary plan View illustrating the paper straighteningdevice.

Fig. III is an enlarged side elevation, partly in section, showingthepaper feeding device and the paper straightening device.

Fig. IV is a vertical section'taken approximately on line IV-IV, Fig. I,looking toward the front lof the-machine.

Fig. V is a detail view illustrating the printing device/and the meansfor vfeeding and straightening the paper.

Fig. VI is an enlarged detail view of the paper creasing rolls. l Y,

Fig. VII is an enlarged perspective view of Aone of the bearings 'forthe lower creasing roll. i

To illustrate the preferred form of the invention, I have` .shown -ashorthand machine provided with .a housing 1, a'type holder 2 arrangedinsaid housing (Fig. I),

a type bar 3 in said type holder, and an inking ribbon 4 adjacent totheline of type on the type bar 3. The paper passes' from a supply roll -A,over a roller =5, under and partially around a roller 5', in front ofand over a roller 6, and then to al paper feeding device whereby it isunwound from the roll and fed through an opening 7 atl the rear of themachine, s ee Fig. I.'

The key actuated devices (Fig. I) pref-i' wardly from its arm 8, and an.arm 11 extendlng upwardly fromv the rear portion of said arm 10. vTheseries of key levers is pivotally supported by a pivot member 12 locatedat-the junctions of the lever arms 10 and 11. The upperend of each leverarm 11'is provided with a forwardly extending printmg hammer 13 whichlies adjacent t0 the type 3, as shown mostv clearly in Figs. I and III.'Restoring ,springs 14 (Fig. I)

with an abutment 15.- i

When one of' the-finger keys 9 is depressed, the keyleverassociated-therewith turns about the axis of pivot member 1 2 and tendto retain the key levers in engagement a -printing yhammer 13 movestoward the type 3, thereby forcing the paper-and inking ribbon towardthe'type and printing one of the type` characters onthe paper. The keylevers may be operated independently of each other, or anyv desirednumber of key leversmay be operated: simultaneously.

The universal bar associated-with the key levers includes a transverseabutment holder 18 arranged in front ofthe series of lever arms 11, andprovided' with a yieldable abutment 19 which engages all of said leverarms 11. The universal baralso includes.y

a pair -of arms 2O and 21 pivotally supported by the pivot member 1 2,arranged on opposite sides ofthe lever arms 11 as shown most clearly inFig. IV, and secured near thelr upper ends to the transverse abutmentholder .18. ,'22 designates a connecting member umting the arms 20 and21 of the universal bar, said connecting member being located at therear of vlever arms 11. 23

ing lto .retain the universal`I bar in the poe sition shownffin thedrawings. The transverse abutment 19, forming part ofthe Zuniversal barstructure, is so arranged that the universal bar will move in responseto movements of any one of the key levers,

The paper feeding device preferably comprises a rotatable shaft 32, apair of feed wheels 33 and 34 fixed to said shaft, a ratchet wheel 35also fixed to a shaft, and a pawl carrier 36 loosely secured to saidshaft. 37 designates a pawl pivoted to the pawl carrier 36, and 38designa-tes a spring connecting said pawl to the pawl carrier. Thespring 38 tends to force the pawl into engagement with the ratchetwheels 35, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. V. The arm 21 of theuniversal bar is provided with an extension 39 (Figs. IV and V) whichcooperates'with an arm 40 on the pawl carrier 36. A spring 41, securedto the universal bar, forces the arm 40 into engagement with theuniversal bar extension 39, said \arm. 40 being provided with a padwhich bears against said extension, asseen in Fig. V. This arm l40,forming part of the pawl carrier 36, is so arranged between the spring41 and universal bar extension 39,

that the pawl carrier will partake of the movements ofthe universal'bar. It will l now be understood that the pawl carrier 36,

as well l`as the universal bar,- is under the control of the key levers,and that the pawl carrier is adapted t0 oscillate 1n response tomovements of said key levers.

When a key is depressed, or when several keys ,are depressedsimultaneously, the universal bar moves forwardly. and the pawl carrier36.turns about the axis of shaft 32 so as to advance the ratchet wheel35 lo'ne step, thereby turning the feed wheels .and 34 to unwind thepaper and advance 1t'^-one step. At the end of the paper lfeeding oper?`movement th paper feeding pawl 37 moves .1 .l

idly along the ratchet wheel 35. n

.To insure anl absolutely positive feeding action, the margins of thepaper A are preferably perforated, `as shown in Fig. II to receive theteeth -which project from the periphery of the feed wheels 33 and 34. 45designates" presser arms, pivotally supported by stationary arms 46 andprovided with grooves 47 (Fig. IV) -for the receptionj of the teeth onthe feed wheels. These arms 45 engage the paper at points on oppositesides of the teeth of the feed wheels,

so as to positively retain the pa er in engagement withsaid wheels.'deslgnates a restoring spring (Fig. I) tend- Each presser arm'45 is'preferably provided with two lnotches 50 and 51 (Flg. III) adapted toreceive a springpressed detent 52. When the pressing devlce occupies itswhich lies in a notch 51. In applying a new roll of paper to themachine, the presser arms are shifted away from the feed wheels to aninoperative position (dotted lines in Fig. III) wherein they will permitthe paper to be fed, by hand, over the feed wheels. At this time, eachpresser arm 45 is retained in its inoperative position by a detent 52which then lies in al notch 51.

The means for straightening the paper preferably comprises a creasingroller 53, journaled in the presser arm 45, and provided with an annularrib 53 adapted to enter an annular groove 54 in a roller 54. The'rollerl 54 preferably lies between the feed wheels 33 and 34, and it isrotatably supported by bearing members 55, each of said bearing membersbeing provided with a substantially semi-circular seat 55 (Fig. VII)adaptedV to receive said roller 54. Since the paper is firmly coiledaround the aXis of the supply roll, it tends to return to a curlycondition after passing from the roll. However, when the paper passesbetween thev creasing rollers 53 and 54 it is uncurled or straightenedby the creasing action which takes place at said rolls. The annular rib53 forces' the middle portion of the paper into the annular groove 54,thus creasing the paper so as to form a reinforcing rib or ridge whichstiifens the paper and prevents it from recurling. The perforations inthe margins of the paper are preferably larger than the teeth of thepaper feeding wheels', so that the paper will not be 4torn by the actionof the creasing rolls 53 and 54.

After passing from the creasing rolls, the straightened paper advancesvstep by step to a shearing device, whereby it is cut into small uniformsheets. The shearing m device I have shown (Fig. I) includes astationary blade 57 and a movable blade 58. The movable blade may beoperable by any suitable automatic mechanism.

' The creasing roll 53 is carried by the pivotally supported arms 55 andit is yieldingly held in its operative position by the spring presseddetent 52 (see Fig. III). When the arms 45 are shifted to the positionshown by dotted lines in Fig. III, the creasing roll 53 is locked in aninoperative position so that the strip of paper may be readily insertedbetween the creasing rolls.

By locating the creasing rolls 53 and 54 at the path of the paper at apoint between the printing device and shearing device, I form alongitudinal crease in the paper at a point where it will not impair theaction of the printing elements and at a point where it will straightenthe paper before the latter reaches the shearing device.

From the foregoing it will be understood that the creasing rolls I haveshown to illustrate the preferred form 0f the invention, becomeeffective upon the operation of the paper feeding device, the paperbeing positively pulled by the paper feeding device and in frictionalengagement with the creasing rolls 53 and 54, so that said creasing-rolls will rotate in response to movements of the paper feeding device.

The printing elements herein shown are claimed in an application forpatent filed by me on Nov. 18, 1916, Serial No. 132,076. The key leverguide is claimed in an application iiled by myself and W. E. Lippert onNov. 18, 1916, Serial No. 132,077. The automatic shearing device hereinreferred to is claimed in an application for patent filed by me on Nov.18, 191,6, Serial No. 132,071. The paper feeding device is claimed in anapplication filed by myself and VV. E. Lippert on Nov. 18, 1916, SerialNo. 132,066.

I claim:

1. In a typewriting machine adapted to receive a roll of paper, aprinting device for printing on the paper, and a paper straighteningdevice including means for creasing the paper.

2. In a typewriting machine adapted to receive a roll of paper, aprinting device for printing on the paper, and a paper straighteningdevice including a member having a groove and means for pressing aportion of the paper into said groove.

3. In a typewritingv machine adapted to receive a roll of paper, aprinting device for printing on the paper, and a paper straighteningdevice adapted toform a longitudinal crease in the paper, said paper lstraightening device including a rotatable member having an annulargroove and a rotatable member having an annular pressing face adapted topress a portion of the paper into said annular groove.

4. In a typewriting machine adapted to receive a roll of paper, aprinting device for printing on the paper, and a paper straighteningdevice including two creasing members adapted to coperate with eachother to form a longitudinal crease in the paper, one of said membersbeing movable to an inoperative position, and means for retaining thelast mentioned member in its inoperative position.

5. In a typewriting machine adapted to receive a roll of paper, aprinting device for printing on the paper, and a paper straighteningdevice including two creasing members adapted to coperate with each'other to form a longitudinal crease in the paper, a pivotal support forone of said creasing members, and a yieldable device tending to retainthelast mentioned member in its operative position.

6. In a typewriting machine adapted t0 receive a roll of paper, aprinting-device for printing on the paper, and a` paper straighteningdevice including two creasing members adapted to coperate with eachother to form a longitudinal crease in the paper, a pivotal support forone'of said 'creasing members, and a yieldable device adapted to retainthe last mentioned creasing member 'in its inoperative position.

7. In a typewriting machine adapted to receive a roll of paper,a-printing device for printing on vthe paper, and a paperstraighteningdevice including two creas- .ing members adapted tocoperatev with each other to form a longitudinal crease in the paper, apivotal support for one of said creasing members, and a yieldable deviceadapted to retain the last mentioned creasing member in either itsoperative or inoperative position'.

- 8. In a typewriting machine adapted to receive a roll of paper, aprinting device for printing on the paper, and a paper straighteningdevice including a creasing tween said roll, a bearing to which saidcreasing roll is rotatably tted, a second creasing roll adapted tocoperate with the first mentioned creasing roll to form a longitudinalcrease inthe paper, bearingy arms to which said second creasing roll isrotatably fitted, and a pivotal support for said bearing arms.

9. In a typewriting machine adapted to receive a roll of paper, a paperfeeding device arranged to grip the margins of the paper, and a paperstraightening device adapted to engage-the paper at a point between saidmargins.

10. In a ty-pewriting machine adapted to receive a roll of paper, apaper feeding device arranged to grip the margins Aof the paper, andjapaper straightening device provided with means for creasing the paper ata point between said margins.

l 11.(In a typewriting machine adapted to receive a .roll of paper, aprinting device, a paper feeding device arranged to grip the margins ofthe paper, and a paper straightening device provided with means forcreasing the paperv at apoint between said margins, said means beinglocated in the path of the paper at a'point substantially befor printingon the paper, and a paper straighteningv device including creasingvmembers arranged at the path ofthe paper and adapted toform alongitudinal crease -in the paper after it passes from said printingdevice.

14. In -a typewriting machine adapted to printing device and paperfeedreceive a roll of paper, a printing device for printing on thepaper, a shearingdevice for severing the paper, and a paperstraightening device including creasing members located at the path ofthe paper and at a point between said printing device landshearingdevice, said ,creasing members beingadapted to form alongitudinal crease in the paper after it passes from said printing.device and beforeit reaches said shearing device. n

15. In a typewriting machine adapted to receive a roll of paper, aprinting device for printing on the paper, a shearing device for cuttingthe paper, rotatable creasing rolls located at the pathof the paper'and-at a point between said printing device and shearing device, one ofsaid creasing rolls being provided with a groove and the other beingprovided with a pressing face adapted to force a portion of the paperinto said y groove, so as t'o form a longitudinal crease in the paperafter it passes from said printing device and before it reaches saidshearing device. l

16. In a typewriting machine adapted to receive a roll of paper, aprinting device for printing on the paper, a paper feeding deviceadapted to engage the margins of the paper, and a paperstraightening-device including creasing members adapted to crease thepaper at a point between said margins.-

17. In a typewriting machine adapted to receive a roll of paper,V aprinting device for printingon the paper, a paper feeding device adaptedto engage the margins of the paper, and a paper strightening deviceincluding rotary creasing members located b etween the margins of thepaper, one of said rotary creasing members being provided with a grooveand the other being provided with a pressing faceadapted to force aportion of the paper into said groove, so as to forni a longitudinalcrease in the paper at a point between its marginal portions.

18. In a typewriting machine adapted to receive a strip of paper havingperforations in its margins, a printing device for printing on the paperat points between the perforaftions, a paper feeding device includingfeed wheels having peripheral teetlinadapted to enter the perforationsatopposite sides of the printed matter, anda paper straighteningdeviceincluding a member having a groove, and means for pressing a portion ofthe paper into said groove, said means being arranged to act on thepaper at a point between said perforations.

19. In a typewriting machine adapted to receive a strip of paper havingperforated margins,a paper feeding device including feed wheels havingperipheral teeth adapted l for retaining the paperin engagement withsaid feed wheels, and paper straightening lto enter the perforations, apresser member Lamme receive a strip of paper having perforated margins,a paper feeding device includingfeed wheels having peripheral teethadapted to enter the perforations, a presser member for retaining thepaper in engagement with said feed wheels, and a paper straighteningdevice including a creasing member associated with said presser memberso as to form a longitudinal crease in the paper at a point between saidperforated margins.

21. In-a typewriting machine adapted to receive a strip of paper havingperforated margins, a printing device for printing on the paper atpoints between the perforations, a paper feeding device including feedwheels having peripheral teeth adapted to enter the perforations, and apaper straightening device associated with said feed wheels, said paperstraightening device being adapted to crease the paper at a pointbetween said feed wheels, and the peripheral teeth of said feedWheels-,being smaller than the perforations in the paper.

22. In a typewriting machine adapted to receive a roll of paper, aprinting device, a paper feeding device adapted to feed the paper to'andfrom said printing device, and a paper straightener associated with saidprinting device and paper feeding device,

, said paper straightener including creasing members which becomeeffective upon the operation ofsaid paper feeding device.

23. In a typewriting machine adapted to receive a roll of pa er, aprinting device, a paper feeding device adaptedto feed the paper to and'from said,v printing device, a

paper straightening device adapted to form a longitudinal crease in thepaper, and means forloperating all of said devices simultaneous y.

24. In a typewriting machine adapted to receive a roll of paper, aprinting device, a paper feeding device adapted to feed the paper to andfrom said printing device, a paper straightening device adapted to forma longitudinal crease in the paper, and means for operating all of saiddevices simultaneously, said means including a universal bar`foroperating said paper feeding device.

25. In a typewriting machine adapted to receive a roll. of paper, aprinting device, a paper feeding device adapted to unwind and feed thepaper to and from said printing device, and a paper straightenerincluding a creasing device associated with said paper feeding device,operating means including a universal bar for actuating said paperfeeding device, vsaid creasing` device being eRective upon the operationof said paper feeding device.

26. In a typewriting machinev adapted to receive a roll of paper, aprinting device, a paper feeding device adapted to unwind and feed thepaper to and from said printing device, a paper straightener including acreasing device associated with said printing device and paper feedingdevice, keys, and key controlled means for o erating said printingdevice and paper fee mg device, the paper feeding device being movablestep by step in response to movements of said keys, and said creasingdevice being operable in response to movements of said pa er feedingdevice.

WA D S. IRELAND.

